Rift's Salvation
by Jonathan112
Summary: The sequel to Malefor's Redemption. A war breaks out between the Jackals and the Dragons. Malefor and his allies must defeat them and try to free his adopted son, Rift, from their clutches...if he can be saved that is...Rated T due to swearing and mild to heavy violence. M in some chapters due to blood and gore. I own nothing except listed OCs under my name (I do not own all OCs).
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: I own nothing except Klaxon, Crater, and Rift.

Nasuada, Corvo's design and Wala belong to HKGhost.

* * *

**Prologue: War**

Five Weeks After start of War against the Jackals...

Seven figures walked under the scorching desert sun, six feeling the effects of dehydration while the seventh...well...the heat seemed to encourage him but the overall mood was...depressing.

The one in the lead had his dragon wings wrapped around himself to shield his face from the harsh desert winds as sand blew at them. The heat didn't bother him one bit, because...he occasionally surfs lava. Klaxon looked behind him to make sure the others were keeping up to him. Malefor was behind him and was shielding his face with a wing while helping Nasuada along. Spyro and Cynder were behind him and helped the other along. Wala took up the rear as she helped Vibrador walk who was nearly unconscious due to his fur color not being that great for intense heat.

Five weeks ago, Warfang had fallen to the Jackals, most of the Ork army scattered and leaderless, any Dragon survivors from the siege also scattered and slowly hunted down.

"How much longer?" said Malefor to Klaxon.

"Give me a second..." said Klaxon pulling out a map.

"WE'RE LOST?!"

"Nope...we're here." said Klaxon moving out of the way and at the same time, the winds died down and a massive wall rose above them and a large wood-steel gate opened and they entered and a massive pool was the first thing they laid eyes on.

"Water! Water! HAHAHA!" laughed Vibrador charging the pool before he jumped into the water after discarding his axe, creating a big splash which got Wala soaking wet and her lion side hated it but she loved it due to the cooling sensation.

"You crazy howler!" snapped Wala playfully as she pulled the club off her back and used it to splash Vibrador.

"How was this place built?" said Malefor looking around as everyone except Klaxon cooled off.

"I built in two days, with some help from my allies which you WON'T meet." said Klaxon.

"Two days!?"

"Hey, super speed helps with construction. Along with heat resistance."

"This place is a perfect stronghold. I mean, the Jackals would have to cross 40 miles of desert to get here." said Spyro looking at the battlements of the place.

"How do you know its 40 miles?" said Malefor looking at Spyro.

"I counted."

"First, let's see if we can't get some more survivors here." said Klaxon and everyone agreed.

* * *

Meanwhile; Main Jackal City (If somebody can come up with a good name, please PM and don't be lazy about it!)...

A white-scaled 18-year-old dragon was curled in on himself, his ribs showing. He watched the passing Jackals with both alert and scared eyes. Whip marks, some fresh, some old, covered his back and a nasty scar started at the top of his head, went through his left eye, and stopped on the right side of his chest. His once bright purple eyes now dulled.

One of the guards threw a two day old slab of meat into his cell.

"Eat up freak." said the Jackal, apparently a new recruit which meant...an easy target.

A feral growl escaped his mouth.

"A tough guy eh? You won't be so tough when I come in there whelp." said the Jackal opening the cell door.

"What the fu-!" said the Jackal as the dragon suddenly transformed into a massive behemoth and grabbed him by the throat and half of his chest before he could react.

*Bones Breaking*

*Flesh Ripping*

The mutilated upper body of the Jackal then hits the camera and slides down, leaving a bloody trail as it slides down.

*Enraged Roar*

"The Prisoner's escaped! Stop him!" yelled a Jackal Captain grabbing a double-staffed cattle prod-like weapon.

_*BZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTT!*_

*Feral Growl*

"AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH-!"

*Bones Breaking*

_*BZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTT!*_

*Pained Roar*

Blood splatters against the limestone rock as a massive shadow falls upon being overwhelmed by five Jackals.

*Pained whimper*

"Shut up freak!"

_*BBBBZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTTTTT!*_

*Pained scream*

* * *

END CHAPTER

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter to the sequel of "Malefor's Redemption".

Don't forget to read, review, follow, and/or favorite.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes: I own nothing except Klaxon, Crater, and Rift.

Nasuada, Corvo's design and Wala belong to HKGhost.

* * *

Chapter 2:

Jackal Capital City; 1 Week Later...

Rift was shoved into the gladiatorial arena that had been his home, in the loosest definition, for the past however long he had been here. Looking around, he was the remains of whatever combatants had been in here before him being pushed into a pit of lava. Besides that one trap, there was a medium sized, spinning saw blade in the center, and another pit, but this one was filled with a form of acid. His hand went to his neck and fiddled with the collar that was wrapped around his neck. It was a shock collar, one that would stay on him even as he turned into Vortex. The collar was also strong enough to incapacitate him when he was Vortex.

But the time for thinking about that was not now. A total of six other combatants were shoved into the arena, and by the set up, only one would leave alive. The other six were two Jackal slaves in leather armor, three older dragons, and a single cheetah. The gong sounded, and the fight began.

[Mortal Kombat Theme]

An ice dragon right across from Rift shot a blast of Ice shards at him. Rift dropped his shoulder and charged through the ice, despite the fact that the shards tore at his flesh and plinked off of his scales. The ice dragon tried to back up, but Rift stuck his hand out and grabbed him by the throat. The ice dragon's eyes bugged before Rift pivoted on his heels and slammed him to the ground, delivering a stomp to his gut before another dragon tackled him from the side. This one was an Electric dragon.

The Electric dragon lunged his head forward to snap at Rift's neck, but the white and bipedal dragon caught his head. Rift's hands were on the sides of the Electric dragon's face. Rift didn't think twice about pressing his thumbs into the dragon's eyes. The dragon howled in pain, giving rift sufficient time to roll, grab him by the throat, and take time to look around. One of the Jackals was fighting against the Cheetah, and the cheetah was standing guard over a wounded dragon. The ice dragon that had been facing Rift earlier was playing with the other jackal like a cat would play with a mouse before eating it. Rift looked to the crowd. They screamed 'Melt him! Melt him!' Rift looked to the now horrified dragon.

"No, no please!" He begged as Rift turned to the acid pit. "Mercy…" The dragon whimpered. Rift just stared, cold-heartedly at him. Without the audience seeing, Rift slipped his tail spade into the dragon's heart. His eyes were wide, but then drifted close.

"Here is your mercy." Rift said in a harsh whisper as he tossed the dragon into the pit of acid, not bothering to look or listen. No time to dawdle. To the next combatant; the ice dragon. Once more, Rift charged headlong at him. The ice dragon noticed, batted the jackal into the lava pit, and moved to impale Rift with an icicle. The ice dragon didn't get the chance. Rift reached him first, throwing out a quick jab to the ice dragon's snout. The ice dragon staggered back, sealing its fate as Rift stepped forward and grabbed hold of his chest. Rift focused, channeling his rage till the breaking point had been reached. He grew, larger and larger till he was a form that had become more and more a part of him since he was captured by the jackals. He was now Vortex, a hulking behemoth. The ice dragon starred in horror as Vortex held him off of the ground. Vortex had red scales with a black underbelly, silver wings, and dark purple eyes unlike Rift who had pure white scales with a silver underbelly, onyx-colored wings and bright (currently dull) purple eyes.

At the roaring crowds approval, Vortex tore off the arm of the dragon, throwing the now-useless limb into the lava pit. The ice dragon howled and flailed his remaining limbs till Vortex raised him above his head, then brought slamming down into his knee. There was a sickening crack, and the ice dragon yelled even louder. Vortex dropped the ice dragon, knowing that it was going to die. He looked to his next query, the last remaining Jackal. The jackal had finished off the cheetah, and the dragon. Now it was just two of them.

Vortex cleared the distance in a single leap. Before the jackal even had a chance to defend himself, Vortex struck first. The dragon delivered a round-house kick to the jackal, sending him skidding across the arena accompanied by the sounds of breaking bones. Vortex ran to the downed jackal, leaning down and scooping him up before throwing him over hand at the closest wall. Turning back to Rift, he leapt upon the jackal and began to swing wild punches and claws. The jackal couldn't defend himself, and was beaten till he was barely conscious.

"Please, mercy…" The jackal asked as Rift grabbed him by the back of his armor and dragged him the center of the arena. Fiddling with the straps on the jackal's armor, he was able to add about a foot or two of extra reach; he laid the wounded jackal near the spinning saw. With a simple flick of his wrist, Rift tossed the buckle into the saw and walked away. The buckle caught, and the spinning motion dragged the jackal to the saw blade.

"NO! PLEASE! MER-" Rift tried not to feel the splatter of blood, and tried to ignore the howls of pain. He tried to remove the shrieks of sick pleasure as his 'audience' fawned over him. Tried to not hear the crunching of the jackal's bones. Tried, being the operative word.

[End Theme]

Suddenly the gates near the northeastern corner opened and Rift lifted an eyebrow before a figure walked out of the open gates, twirling a kunai in his hand. The figure was wearing a black cloak and a red mask with a single eye-hole for the right eye. Black dreadlocks swayed in the slight breeze in the arena revealing wolf ears.

"Where's his guards?" said one of now silent audience members.

* * *

Earlier that Day; Jackal Prison Camp...

A lone guard was making his daily check-up on the prisoners that were currently in the camp's holding center. "Room 4,871...vacant." said the Jackal walking away. But a slight shuffling made him back-track and looked in again. This time, he saw a figure hiding in the shadows, "What? Nobody logged any new arrivals..." The guard leaned on the door, only for it to open and he stumbled back before he regained his balance.

"W-who are you?" said the Jackal as the figure stood up, "What the-"

[Carnival Music]

"The door was open, so I...let myself in..." said the figure in a deep, dark voice, his face concealed by a blue-green mask, his cloak's long sleeves swinging in the air as he swung his arms back and forth slowly.

"Who...who are you?" said the guard, fear rising in his chest.

"My card..." said the figure pulling out a tarot card that read "The Fool" and began walking towards the guard who backed up in fear.

"No...no...wait...stop...AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" screamed the guard before red mist consumed him.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA-AHAHAHAHAHA!"

30 Minutes Later...

A Jackal Squad enters the room and saw the guard standing rigid in the center of the room. The Captain walks up to him and turns him around, but the guard's face is twisted into an eternal, ear-splitting smile. In shock, the Captain almost knocks him over, but catches him and places him against the wall.

"Takes after his pa, don't he?" said a figure in the shadows. Without a second thought, the squad fires explosive arrows at him. But he lands in front of them, without a scratch on him.

"Some welcoming committee." said the figure as he stood up.

"What'd you do to him?" said the captain glaring at the masked man.

"Nothing, just a little laughing gas from a friend. Don't tell me you guys aren't inmates...I mean, WHO dresses like YOU in a PRISON?! Speaking of threads; how do mine look?" said the figure dancing a little.

"Who are you?" said the Captain grabbing the masked man by the collar of his cloak.

"MASK."

"Not 'what', 'who'!" said the Jackal ripping off the man's blue-green mask only to reveal a black one underneath.

"Sorry, anti-identity revealer." said the guy removing his black mask only to reveal a red mask.

"Quit with the gags."

"Oh, but they're half the fun." said the figure jumping back. "Nothing up my sleeves..." He said as a spray can was revealed upon sleeve sliding down "...nothing that won't make you smile..."

The figure pulls the handle back, but an explosive arrow hits the can, blowing it up and knocking him back.

"I'm out of gas..."

"And I'm out of patience!" said the Captain, upper-cutting the masked man after he steps on the long sleeves.

*CRACK!*

*RIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPP!*

"That was 100% pure cotton. Do you have any idea how hard it was to make this cloak by hand?" said the figure eyeing his ruined sleeves. "You're crazy, you need help." said the captain walking towards him slowly. "I might be a little screw-loose..." said the figure before he jumped onto the Captain's chest and then kicked off him, sending the Captain flying onto his back.

"But what can you do? Send me to the loony bin? I'm already here wise guy!" said the masked man eye-smiling, "But for the heck of it...I surrender..." The masked man then holds his hands out and the six Jackals stare at him in shock. "Go on boys. Cuff me." None of the Jackals move.

"What are you waiting for? A sneak attack? I used that on Mister Chuckles here." said the masked man pointing at the smiling guard, "Besides, I could take this whole place down with both hands tied behind my back and blindfolded. So go on, cuff me."

*CLICK!*

"Ooooh, going with Anti-Magic Chains are we? Very clever...so where we going boys?" said the masked man eye-smiling as they dragged him off.

2 Hours Later; Checkpoint 2B Gladiator Arena...

"Keep those chains on his hands until you reach the Arena entrance...no matter what he says or does." warned the Jackal Captain handing over their prisoner to another squad. Five minutes later, the new squad is escorting the masked man down the narrow corridor towards the Arena. "Can you loosen these chains? They're chaffing my fur." whined the masked man.

"Shut up." said a Jackal poking him in the back with his spear.

"Oh well. More fun then." said the masked man as he kicked the Jackal behind him in the gut. He then wrapped his chains around the throat of the Jackal that was in front of him. He pulled the chains in opposite directions, garroting the Jackal's neck till his flailing stopped. He head-butted another Jackal before he grabbed the guy's sword and slit the owner's throat. Parrying the strike from another jackal, he spun out of that one's way and threw the sword into the chest of another, pinning him to the nearby wall.

The last one was the one who jabbed him in the back with the spear and his knees where shaking.

"Do I have kill you too, or will you release me?" said the figure showing his chains to the Jackal. The Jackal unlocked the chains before he was sprayed with red mist and dropped to the floor coughing.

" *cough, cough, cough!* Ah ha...hah ha hah...hahaha...hahhahaha...AH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHA!"

The masked man then turned around and began walking towards the Arena...

* * *

Present Time...

The masked man pulled down a microphone from seemingly nowhere before he cleared his throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we bring you a very special fight. A fight between Rift over in that corner...*points to west side corner*...the local Jackal Gladiators...*points to the northern corner*...aaaaaaand...fresh from the plane from Wackyland...Dodo the Dodo and Gogo Dodo!" said the masked man before two green Dodos appear next to him.

Dodo and Gogo: "We're the last Dodos. ~Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do...~"

"And finally...*turns into a blue tornado*...ME! MASK! Hit it boys!" said MASK (Klaxon).

[Tiny Toons Adventures Theme]

*Loony Toon Symbol falls down*

MASK: **~We're tiny~**

Dodo: **~We're toony~**

All three: **~We're all very loony!~**

**~MASK shoves exploding cigars in your mouth while Dodo dances on your face **

**And Gogo smashes your feet**

**The trio are very insane, don't bother with therapy because they'll drive the doctors cuckoo!**

**Stay out of their way or else you go wacko~**

[Theme ends]

"We need to work on the theme song guys." said MASK looking at Dodo and Gogo.

"Yep." said Dodo nodding.

"Definitely" said Gogo looking thoughtful.

"Kill them!" yells the Jackal Emperor pointing at the three lunatics and the twelve newly arrived Jackal Gladiators charged them.

MASK's eyes bulge out of his face as a car horn sounds before he runs away from them until he face-plants into a wall and removes his face from the wall before he looks around in a panic. He then runs off and reappears with a paint bucket and artist outfit on and paints a door and window onto the wall and opens the door and runs in before he closes it. A Jackal grabs the door knob but finds it locked and goes for the open window only to have MASK Klaxon slam it down on his fingers.

"YYYYYOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!" screams the Jackal before he pulls his fingers out of the window, the digits pulsing red. He then glares at MASK through the window and the blue scaled man blows a raspberry at him before he drops his pants and moons him. The Jackal turns a bright red before he jumps at the window only to hit a rock wall and MASK walks out the door.

"Doesn't anybody know that you can't beat toons?" said MASK to the audience looking confused.

Dodo is seen dancing on a Jackal who has to protect his face from the spiked cleats Dodo is wearing.

"Strike one." said Gogo dodging the club swing from a Jackal wielding a club.

"Strike two."

"Strike three. Yooooouuuuuuuu're...OUT!" said Gogo before he punches the Jackal with a giant Boxing Glove sending the Jackal flying through the air until he crashes into a cabbage vendor cart.

"NOT AGAIN!" yelled the vendor at seeing his cabbages ruined...again...for probably the billionth time.

A Jackal then tries to hit MASK with a war hammer yet it bounces off MASK and smashes into the Jackal's face who puts his weapon down and then falls dead.

After several more cartoon-based gags...

The surviving Jackals are in a large pile, each missing teeth, having tons of bruises, or sporting black eyes.

MASK, Dodo, and Gogo then bow to the audience before a cane comes out and pull Dodo and Gogo back to Wackyland. MASK then becomes a blue tornado again and the masked man is back and he casually strolls over to Rift who stands there with a blank expression, blood dripping from his claws.

Klaxon waves a hand in front of Rift's face yet gets no response.

*SLAP!*

Rift's eyes widen as they go back to being their bright purple color and he looks up to see Klaoxn in front of him.

"Klaxon?" said Rift in confusion as he swayed a bit but was steadied by Klaxon.

"Easy kid. I came here to tell you not lose hope, we'll get you out but not right now. Don't give up kid." said Klaxon calmly before he handed Rift a grenade.

"Give 'em hell the next time you break out. Okay?" said Klaxon eye-smiling before he disappeared in black mist.

"Right." breathed Rift hiding the grenade. Rift then finds a note on the ground.

_"First Time Users Grenade Usage, Step-by-Step:_

_Step 1: Pull pin_

_Step 2: Throw it_

_Turn Page over..._

_Step 3: Throw GRENADE not the pin for those who have never seen a Grenade before_

_This paper will now self-destruct..."_

Rift's eyes widen before...

*EXPLOSION!*

...the paper DOES explode, covering the white-scaled dragon's face with soot and ash.

"Stupid prankster..." muttered Rift before the Jackals force him back into his cage, a feral growl escaping his throat as they tried to prod him back in their electrified staffs.

"Shut up freak!" snapped a Jackal hitting Rift in the back with the staff.

_*BBBBZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTTT!*_

"AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" screamed Rift as the pain course through his body and barely managed to stay standing.

"Move it fellas. That's not how you get the freak to move...THIS IS!" said a Jackal Slaver brandishing a whip.

*Whip Cracks!*

Rift winced in pain as the whip ripped through his already sore back, creating a narrow stream of blood which slowly slide down.

"Move your sorry a$$!"

*Whip Cracks!*

A feral growl emanates from Rift's throat.

*Whip Cracks!*

Rift turns around and lunges for the Slaver only to have his collar stop him, causing him to collapse to the ground in agonizingly shocking pain (no pun intended). The Jackals advance and began beating on him with their weapons until he's a bloody mess.

"Okay fellas, that's enough. The Emperor wants him alive for his plan, just spit on his pathetic hide." said the Slaver before he spit a wad of tobacco in Rift's eye, followed by the other five spitting wads of saliva on him.

*CRASH, Metal Breaking!*

"Look out! The red one got loose!"

"Here he comes!"

"Watch out for his jaws!"

*Metal Chomps Flesh!*

"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!"

*Rage Filled Roar!*

*Blood Splatters*

The last thing Rift saw before he lost consciousness was a red dragon with steel jaws standing over him, blood dripping from thejaws' metal surfaces.

* * *

END CHAPTER


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes: I own nothing except Klaxon, Crater, and Rift.

Nasuada, Corvo's design and Wala belong to HKGhost.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Dark Magic and...Disco?**

Klaxon was lounging in the shade of the oasis three miles west of the small city that was he and his allies current stronghold when a strange smell reached his nostrils and he sat up and eyed the horizon. He saw figures moving across the sands but due to the distance, he wasn't able to get a good look. Removing his mask, metal covered the left side of his face giving him a cyborg-ish look.

Using his now-robotic eye, he zoomed in on the figures and switched the thermal vision with the eye. His organic eye widened upon scanning the figures before he reverted to normal and pulled out a cell phone, dialed a number, and waited for an answer.

"Hey CD, I got a problem here...No, no, nobody's dead...here, let me take a pic." said Klaxon using the phone to take a picture of the approaching figures, the absurdly bright flash from the camera blinding him, "So what do you think?"

From the Phone: "I'M GONNA SLAGGING KILL THOSE JACKALS FOR THIS DISREGRAD FOR THE NATURAL ORDER!"

Klaxon clutched his ears in pain before gold flames appeared behind him and the a gold robed skeleton walked out and gently moved Klaxon out of the way. The skeleton brandished his scythe as he eyed the desert sands and spotted the approaching figures.

"The Jackals used Dark Magic didn't they?" said Klaxon eyeing the approaching Jackals.

"Yes. Now get out of here. This is about to get messy." said CD throwing off his gold robes to reveal golden armor that covers his knees, chest, lower torso, and arms. A gold Spartan helmet covers his head and he brandishes his scythe. He then slams the scythe into the ground, creating a massive crack in the ground with purple light pouring out of it. Thousands of purple cloaked creatures then fly out of the crack and surround CD.

"You called master?" asked one of the bigger purple cloaked creatures as it bowed its head towards its master.

CD then pointed towards the approaching Undead Jackals and the wraith bowed again before it and its smaller companions flew towards the enemy, their hoods falling off to reveal humanoid skulls with incredibly sharp teeth and glowing red eye sockets. The wraiths flew into the bodies of the Undead Jackals and came back out with the Jackal's soul in their razor sharp talon-like hands before they fly back into the crack in the ground with the removed soul.

With every two Undead Jackals "re-killed" three more rise from the desert sands to take their place and CD clenches his scythe until his knuckles turn whiter than they already are. He then eyes the battlefield again and spots a Jackal at the top of a sand dune wielding some type of voodoo looking staff.

"Keep eliminating the Undead Jackals, I got my own target." said CD before he disappeared in gold flames and reappeared behind the Jackal Sorcerer, bringing his scythe down. The Jackal blocks the blow and kicks CD in the stomach knocking him back.

"Death can't interfere with the land of the living." said the Jackal calmly.

"I can when somebody STEALS FROM MY REALM! NOW DIE!" said CD swinging his scythe in a 360 degree arc yet the Jackal jumps back and throws a fireball from his hand at the embodiment of death yet CD just brushes the flames off his armor.

"Fighting Death gets you nowhere."

CD does a sweep-kick for the Jackal's legs but the Jackal dodges it and throws a throwing knife at the skeleton yet it goes right through his stomach region and embeds itself in the sand.

"You do realize I'm a skeleton right? Conventional weapons do not effect me." said CD sending a kick to the Jackal's stomach.

The Jackal puts his staff away and brings out a short-sword and lunges at CD who easily side-steps the attack and kicks the Jackal in the a$$ before he rams the scythe's blade up the Jackal's a$$. The Jackal cries out in pain before CD sliced upwards, splitting the Jackal in two dead pieces. The golden armored figure then turns back to his wraiths as they finish up the Undead Jackals and the Lead Wraith flies up to him.

"We've eliminated the Undead master, but we detect more, scattered they are though." said the wraith bowing.

"So, the Jackals plan to create an Undead Army to increase their numbers. Not if I have anything to say about..." growled CD before he and his wraith army disappeared in gold flames.

* * *

Ten Weeks Later; Cyros, the Jackal Capital...

A tall, and somewhat lanky, purple lizard walked into the Main Prison section of the city, blinding nearly everybody who looked at him. He was wearing a green jacket with a red t-shirt underneath, green pants loosely held up by a white belt with a gold buckle, brown shoes, rings covering his fingers and a long fancy cigar in his mouth

"Hey! No smoking in the prison sector!" yelled one of the Jackal Guards, glaring at him before he drew his sword, "Matter of fact, you aren't allowed here. Get out!"

"I'm sorry. There's no sign that says 'Visitors not allowed' so Dimitri have every right to be here Cracker-box." said the lizard.

"What did you say? Talk sense!" The jackal said with a strange look on his face.

"Why is it that everybody not understand Dimitri's style?! You have your style, I have mine. Deal with it bro!" The lizard slurred out in his strange accent.

"What are you saying?" The jackal questions as he began to lose his temper.

"GAH! What is with you people?! Dimitri talking like he always do yet do you understand a thing I am beaming to you? No! You tell Dimitri that he not making a single piece of sense! I'm speaking smoove English here bro, what is so hard to understand about it?"

"Get out of here before your piece of trash suit blinds everybody." said Jackal advancing menacingly with his sword.

"{High-Pitched}AAAH!...{Normal-Pitch} Nobody except Coopa insults Dimitri's style! Let's dance bro!" said Dimitri. He disappeared in a purple cloud and reappeared in front of the Jackal, catching the guard off-guard before he delivered a spin-kick to the Jackal's face.

[Sly 2 Band of Thieves- Dimitri's Boss Battle Theme]

The Jackal regained his balance and charged Dimitri, but the purple lizard pulled out some type of gun from his jacket and fired a round at the Jackal. The Jackal fell to the ground in a heap as electricity coursed through his body. Dimitri blew the smoke off his Shock Pistol.

"Who does Dimitri want a piece of next?" said Dimitri getting into his own fighting style stance.

"Kill him!" yelled the Jackal Captain as six more Jackals came into view.

"Let's get this party started!" said Dimitri disappearing in another purple cloud. He reappeared in front of a Jackal and backflip-kicked him, sending him flying into a nearby torch rack. The rack impaled the Jackal through the heart. Another Jackal charged Dimitri, his sword raised, but Dimitri dodged the strike and punched the Jackal in the nose, breaking the Jackal's long muzzle, followed by him using his tail to sweep the Jackal's feet out from under him. The jackal landed on his back, and Dimitri jumped onto the downed Jackal's chest, breaking the bones before he back-flipped over an explosive arrow and landed on his feet.

"That's not hot bro." said Dimitri before he disappeared in another purple cloud and reappeared a few feet away from the arrow shooting Jackal. Dimitri fired his Shock Pistol three times, hitting two more Jackals and incapacitating them. Another Jackal charged him only to get Dimitri's foot rammed between his legs. The Jackal's eyes bulged out of his head before a harsh open palm blow was delivered to his face, sending him reeling before he collapsed.

"You mess with the horns, you get the bull." said Dimitri pointing his Shock Pistol at the Jackal Captain.

"What the f** are you saying?" said the Jackal in complete confusion. Dimitri pulls the trigger of his weapon but it short-circuits and he drops it.

"Uh-oh! Smoky alert! Freak out!" said Dimitri before he dodged the sword strike of the Jackal. Despite the lizard's appearance of being slow and probably clumsy, he could easily dodge the Jackal's attacks and it wasn't long before the Jackal was panting heavily, barely able to hold his sword while Dimitri didn't even looked phased.

"You alright bro?" said Dimitri shining his rings on his jacket.

"Just...*huff, puff*...you...*huff, puff*...stupid...lizard..." growled the Jackal between breaths.

"I was only askin'." said Dimitri shrugging before he spin-tail slapped the Jackal into the nearby wall, knocking the guard out.

"There. That wasn't so easy." said Dimitri dusting his hands off as he walked further into the compound.

[End Theme]

30 Minutes Later...

*Explosion!*

*Shock Pistol Firing*

*Door Slams*

*CRASH!*

Dimitri leaned against the nearby wall to caught his breath.

"How many more stories must I go up? Place need elevator instead of so many stairs." said Dimitri as he walked up the 700th flight of stairs in the building. Upon entering the massive cell room, he noticed that the cells here were mostly empty except for one which had a massive red scaled dragon but Dimitri ignored him for now and pulled out a piece of paper from his jacket.

"Cell Block A; Cell 40..." muttered Dimitri eyeing the paper and the numbers above each cell before he came the correct one yet...it was empty.

"What is this? Dimitri follow what was written on paper to the order, yet do I find what I'm supposed to? No! I find big nothing!"

Dimitri then notices a clip-board attached to the side of cage and removes it and looks it over.

_"Prisoner in Cell 40A will be transferred to High Security Royal Prison Sector at 0600 today. All personnel assigned to guard duty of this prisoner are to be transferred to corresponding sector."_

Dimitri threw the clip-board to the ground before he started jumping on it in anger.

"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" said Dimitri before he stopped and calmed down.

"Great. Now Dimitri have to go back to desert base emptied handed and tell Malefor I couldn't get his son due to a stupid transfer. Why must Dimitri always suffer? *GASP!* WHY?!"

"Did you say 'Malefor'?" said the red dragon spooking Dimitri who jumped onto a overhead light in fear.

"DON'T BE SPOOKING DIMITRI LIKE THAT! And yes, I did say 'Malefor'. Why? You got some bone to be picking with him?"

"No, I don't have a grudge against him. I'm an old friend. Get me out of here and I can give you some info on what's going on here." said the dragon approaching the front of the cage, revealing his metal jaws.

"How does Dimitri know you won't split-run upon me breaking you out of there?" said Dimitri crossing his arms.

"I don't double-cross potential allies."

"Fair enough. Stand back from the bars." said Dimitri pointing his Shock Pistol at the lock...

*Pistol short-circuits*

"GAH! Wakka, wakka, wakka!" said Dimitri throwing his weapon to the ground and stomping on it, "Stupid, worthless, piece of merchandise!"

The dragon sighs in annoyance before he uses his jaws to bit a chunk out of the metal bars, big enough for him to escape.

"Ptew! Come on, let's get out of here." said the dragon heading for a wall.

"Why are we heading for end-dead? Shouldn't we be finding way out of this loony bin?" said Dimitri looking confused.

"We make are own exit."

"Ooooohhhh, that make more sense now." said Dimitri before he was grabbed by the dragon and put onto the red's back.

"Hold on." said the dragon charging the wall.

"Doesn't this come with belt seats?!" said Dimitri shielding his eyes.

* * *

END CHAPTER

Nasty Cliffhanger right?

Anyway, I do NOT own Dimitri. Hope you enjoyed and don't forget to read, review, follow, and/or favorite.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Notes: I own nothing except Klaxon, Crater, and Rift.

Nasuada, Corvo's design and Wala belong to HKGhost.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Two Weeks Later; Royal Security Sector of Prison...

"Almost...got it...*gets finger shocked*...AGH! Stupid piece of shit! This ain't no job for me man!" came a voice of Jackal...and too close for comfort.

Rift's eyes shot open and he saw a Jackal kneeling by him and he reacted by grabbing the Jackal by the throat and lifting him off the ground as he sat up.

"{Choked}Hey...calm down kid...gak...we ain't here to harm ya..." said the Jackal trying to pry Rift's fingers off his throat but to no avail. The Jackal was apparently a slave judging by his torn up rags and mangy look. His eyes were a sky blue while his fur was a dirty tan.

"Put the kid down, he speaks the truth." said another nearby Jackal, this one a gladiator judging by his leather armor and Scimitar strapped to his belt. His fur was mostly grey with some hints of brown in it and his eyes were a hazel color. The numerous scars marking his face signified he was a veteran gladiator.

Rift glances at both with disbelieving eyes.

"{Choked}Don't...believe us? Try removing...the collar." said the Jackal Rift was currently choking.

With his free hand, Rift got three of his claws to grasp the collar and he pulled expecting a shock yet nothing happened. Without a second thought, the white-scaled dragon ripped the collar off and threw it aside. He then looked at the Jackal he was choking and slowly lowered him to the ground and then released his grasp on the Jackal's neck who instantly took in a big gulp of air.

"See? Told you. We ain't here to harm ya. Name's Mtumwa." said the Jackal Slave calmly.

"Rift. Him?" said Rift pointing towards the gladiator.

"He's called 'Doc', his real name isn't wise to say." said Mtumwa.

"Why?"

"Talk to him about it."

"Okay. Why's he called 'Doc'?"

"He surgically dismembers his enemies with his scimitar."

Rift grimaced at the mental picture before he looked at the two suspiciously.

"How do I know I can trust you two?" said Rift crossing his arms.

"I'm old and a gladiator, I don't have much to live for." said Doc checking their surroundings with extreme caution.

"I'm a slave, a badly treated one at that. I get constantly whipped, beaten, and spit on everyday. I'd rather die by a sword through the heart than the torture I have to endure delivered by my _'masters'_." said Mtumwa, spitting out the last word with venom.

"Fine, let's get out of here but if you guys are lying..." threatened Rift.

"Yeah, yeah, you'll kill us in the most gruesome way possible." said Mtumwa waving him off, "Come on! We need to get moving, now!"

The trio make their way through various corridors until they come to a massive reinforced steel door guarded by a lone Jackal who looked half asleep.

"How do we get pass him?" whispered Mtumwa leaning around the corner with Rift below him. Rift looked thoughtful before a sinister smirk formed on his face and he pulled out the grenade Klaxon gave him and he attached a piece of paper to the pin and rolled it towards the Jackal guard.

The guard shot awake from his slight nap upon hearing metal rolling on the ground and he looked around in alertness before he felt something tap his foot and he looked down to see a round metal canister and he picked up and read the paper attached to it.

_"How to use a Grenade, idiot-style:_

_Step 1: Pull pin_

_Step 2: Throw pin and hold grenade"_

The Jackal shrugs about the idiot part and pulls the pin and throws it away and holds onto the grenade.

"I don't get it." said the Jackal looking at the grenade in confusion.

*EXPLOSION!*

The three escapees look to see the guard's legs standing but the rest of him is obliterated.

"What the heck happened?!" said Mtumwa in shock.

"That's what happens when you don't throw the grenade." said Rift walking up to the steel door before he changed into Vortex and ripped the door off its hinges and put it to the side and then changed back to normal.

"You two coming?" said Rift looking over his shoulder.

The two quickly follow Rift out the door. After making their way out of the facility without a single problem, alarms go off throughout the prison and the trio make their way out of the city.

* * *

Two Days Later; Forest near Cyros...

Rift was wrestling with a dog-like creature that was trying to bite his face off yet he managed to break the creature's neck easily. (Please imagine that these creatures look like the ones from the "Predators" movie (Predator "3" I guess)

Rift looked around and watched as Doc easily dismembered the one attacking him and it fell to the ground in surgically cut pieces and the Jackal Gladiator sheathed his scimitar while Mtumwa struggled with the one attacking him. Rift sighed before he walked over punted the creature off the Jackal Slave, the dog-like animal whimpering as it flew into a tree, the impact silencing its cries of pain. Rift then helped Mtumwa to his feet.

"Why'd they have to send those things out?" said Mtumwa massaging his neck.

"You knew about them?" said Rift.

"They usually only send those blasted animals out when a high-profile prisoner escapes...oh..." said Mtumwa before their situation hit him like a ton of bricks, "Oh shit! If they sent those things out..."

He never got to finish his sentence as a bear-trap on a chain latched onto his back and began dragging him towards the heavy foliage nearby, Rift grabbing his arms and stopping him. Blood sprayed from Mtumwa's back as the weapon began ripping his flesh off his back, earning pained grunts from the Jackal.

"Kill me! Just kill me!" said Mtumwa as the pain began to get to him.

"Why?" said Rift using his foot to hold Mtumwa in place as he tried to get the bear-trap off the Jackal's back.

"This guy...they're rare...he'll torture me 'til I crack...torture worse than anything I've ever endured before...just put me out of my misery!"

Another bear-trap then latched onto his tail, and another latched onto his left leg, the screams of pain getting to Rift as he had purple lightning engulf his hand.

"Do it! DO IT!" screamed Mtumwa as two more bear-traps latched onto him.

Rift slammed his electrified fist into the slave's heart, silencing the Jackal for good before he lifted his foot off the Jackal's corpse and watched as it disappeared. Rift began trembling in anger before he felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked to see Doc.

"We need to go." said the gladiator Jackal, emotions running through his eyes like crazy.

Rift reluctantly nods and the two leave the area, heading for-hopefully-safety...but instead...more trouble.

* * *

**END CHAPTER**

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to read, review, follow, and/or favorite.

Mtumwa is Swahili for "Slave".

Doc's real name will NOT be revealed on account that I'd rather not write it.


	5. Captured again andthe Facility part 1

Author's Notes: I own nothing except Klaxon, Crater, and Rift.

Nasuada, Corvo's design and Wala belong to HKGhost.

Key:

"{D} Hello" = Distortion in voice

"{Vasudan:} Hello." = Translation into English while speaker speaks different language.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Cave...

Rift looked out at the entrance, his eyes dull as he watched the rain fall.

"You need to learn that what happened is how we Jackals treat slaves, they're expendable." said Doc, reluctance in his voice as he said those words.

"How old was Mtumwa?" said Rift, eyes still on the entrance.

"Ten."

"He looked older."

"Slavery made him grow up."

"He didn't deserve the death I gave him."

"The Emperor of the Jackals is a tyrant, he enjoys watching our own kind butcher each other in gruesome ways so he made legal for slaves to be butchered if they escape their masters, Mtumwa wouldn't have been an exception. You gave him a quick death."

"Just wish I could have saved him."

"Don't let it get you down kid, we all have to make tough choices."

"Thought you were a gladiator not a scientist..."

"I was a scientist before the Emperor decided to go from advancing our society to a war machine."

"Let me guess; skilled in biology?"

"Yes."

"No wonder they call you 'Doc'."

"Better than my real name..."

"What is it anyway?"

"Rather not say. Don't push the subject."

"We need to keep moving, whatever or whoever is after us could be right on our tails."

"Or they could already be here." came a dark voice as three Jackals popped out of the ground. Rift and Doc shot up and the old gladiator drew his scimitar while Rift got into a defensive stand, a feral growl escaping his mouth as he flexed his claws. The three Jackals had light brown fur and steel grey eyes while light metal armor covered them. Their hands had metal gauntlets that seemed to have some type of projectile weapon hidden within. Numerous scars covered their bodies and they had a slight twitch to their body movements.

Suddenly two bear-traps shot out of nowhere and latched onto Rift's arms and pulled them so he couldn't use them and two more of the strange Jackals appeared from the shadows, the chains attached to the bear-traps extending from their gauntlets.

"Kill the gladiator, he is useless." said the lead Hunter Jackal.

"Kill me if you can." said Doc before he appeared in front of one of the Hunters and in a flash of steel, the Hunter was cut into twenty-seven surgically cut pieces. In a flash, one of the Hunters threw a knife through Doc's left shoulder, earning nothing more but a grunt from the gladiator before the old man removed the knife and threw it into the heart of the knife's original owner.

The third Hunter had "Freddy Krueger glove" like claws erupt from his gauntlet and he rammed them into the stomach of Doc before he slashed the old Jackal's back open.

"That...the best you got?" growled the gladiator as blood sprayed from his mouth as he rammed his scimitar into the Hunter's knee and then raked his foot against the Hunter's shin and then head-butted him, sending the Hunter reeling.

The two holding Rift with their chains were lifted off the ground as the white-scaled dragon changed into Vortex and used his former captors as living nun-chucks on the lead Hunter.

*CRACK!*

Vortex looked at his weapons and saw that only their arms were still connected to the chains as the rest was obliterated upon smashing against the lead Hunter at well over 2,000 mph, the lead Hunter's head smashed to a blood pulp upon impact.

"DIE OLD MAN!" yelled one of the surviving Hunters as he swung his cleaver sword in a 180 degree arc, cleaving the gladiator in half. The Hunter smirked in victory until he saw the old gladiator lift his head and right arm off the ground and point behind the Hunter.

"You...*gurgles blood*...missed one..." gasped the gladiator before he fell to the ground, the life slowly leaving him.

A huge shadow engulfs the Hunter who slowly turns around, wide-eyed, before his face is grabbed by a massive hand and he is repeatedly bashed against the cave's wall until his head is nothing but mush but the transformed dragon doesn't stop there; Vortex then twists the upper and lower body in opposite directions before he rips it in two and throws the pieces aside before he turns back to normal and walks up to the dying gladiator.

"Get going kid...destroy the cave though...my tomb, this...place...is..." wheezed Doc his lungs failing.

"Okay. Just one last question; what is your real name?"

"My real...name was...*chokes on air*..." said Doc before his arms and head went limp and his eyes closed and Rift got up and exited the cave before he used his purple lightning to destroy the cave and he left the area, unaware of another Hunter watching him from the treetops.

* * *

Two Days Later; River...

Rift looked at his reflection in the water after washing himself off and sighed. He wondered if his surrogate father would recognize him in his current state, what with his ribs showing, the massive scar he now had, the somewhat dullness to his bright purple eyes...

"What am I thinking? Of course he'd recognize me...but will I be able to recognize him?" said Rift to himself before he froze upon hearing the sound of crackling lightning.

_*BBBBBBBZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTTTTTT!*_

Rift was unable to cry out in pain as the sudden jolt knocked him into unconsciousness and the Jackal Hunter dragged him back to the city but not before beating the unconscious white-scaled dragon to within an inch of his life.

"Teach him to run away again." muttered the Hunter as he dragged Rift back to the city unaware of the purple cloak wearing wraith watching him with red eyes.

* * *

Three Days Later; Great Desert Dragon Stronghold...

The gold armored skeleton entered the War Room and cleared his non-existent throat to get the dragons', wolf and wolf/lioness' attention.

"What is it?" said Malefor somewhat annoyed with how things are going currently.

"My wraiths report that Rift managed to escape the Jackals' clutches with the help of two, believe or not, Jackals but was recaptured and the two other escapees were killed. They have moved Rift to a new location; an isolated research facility/prison." said the embodiment of Death calmly.

"I'll go. Time I had some fun." said Klaxon, his mask off and his eyes showing an evil gleam and Vibrador gulped.

"Anybody else freaked out by his eyes?" said the black wolf nervously.

* * *

Ten Weeks Later; Frozen Depths Research Facility/Prison...

[John Carpenter's The Thing Main Theme]

A husky ran through the snow, panting heavily as a black helicopter with a strange dark sulfur colored armored person with a Sniper Rifle shot at the dog. The Jackals at the nearby base saw the commotion and pretty soon the dog was running towards their encampment. When the dog ran under one of their supply crates, the helicopter landed and the armored person came out and stormed up to them, shooting rounds into the air.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" said one of the Jackals walking up to the armored figure.

"{Vasudan:} Give me the animal! It must be killed! Wait...open your mouth!" said the figure in a different language, one none of the Jackals could understand.

"What?"

"{Vasudan:} OPEN YOUR MOUTH!" yelled the figure aiming for the Jackal's head. The figure had red lensed goggles covering his eyes and a helmet covering most of his face, the helmet seemed to meld into the dark sulfur-colored armor.

Suddenly an arrow pierced the guy's head and he stumbled back before he regained his balance and brought his weapon up before another arrow pierced his right eye and he fell to the ground, dead. The helicopter's pilot panicked and took off. The pilot then flickered and picked up his radio.

"Desert Base come in. Cargo has been dropped off, returning to base." said the pilot, his voice deep, dark, and somewhat robotic but not monotone robotic. Within a few minutes the helicopter was out of sight.

The Jackals eye the person's body as blood and a black liquid (oil) ooze from the figure's body.

"Get the body inside and the dog too."

The husky happily licks his saviors as he's led in.

[End Theme]

* * *

Two Hours Later...

"So what'd you find out about our 'guest'?" said Toque, one of Jackal Elites at the base.

"His organs have been replaced with machinery well ahead of us, the only things that are still organic are his heart and lungs, the rest of his insides are wires and strange flashing light boxes. His blood is a very strange compound." said Maverick, one of the researchers/wardens.

"OW! JACK! GET THIS STUPID MUTT IN THE KENNELS!" yelled one of the Jackals in the relaxation room.

"I'm coming! Keep your pants on Fleabane." said Jack walking into the room.

* * *

Kennels; 10 Minutes Later...

Jack puts the husky in the Kennel with the Reapers (Hunting "dogs" based on the animals from "Predators") and the Reapers growl at the husky and keep their distance.

"Hey shut up! Play nice boys." said Jack as he left.

The husky went over to the farthest corner of the kennel and laid down and went to sleep, a faint outline of black mist leaving the dog's nostrils. After the black mist left, the Reapers huddled around the husky like nothing happened and all went to sleep peacefully.

* * *

Boiler Room; Five Minutes Later...

[John Carpenter's The Thing Main Theme]

The lone Jackal Engineer checked the various gauges on the facility's heating system when he heard a loud wet slithering sound and he grabbed the nearby monkey wrench and began advancing to where he heard the sound.

*Steam hisses*

"Anybody here?" said the Jackal keeping an eye on his surroundings as he cautiously walked towards his destination.

*Steam hisses*

The sound happens again this time around the corner of a huge boiler and the Jackal gulps as he starts trembling. Suddenly a mouse shoots by him and he jumps back two feet before he lets out a sigh of relief and steels his nerves before he continues towards the Jackal rounds the corner of the boilder and only finds a shadow filled dead end...or so he thinks. Suddenly red tentacles shoot out of the shadows, grab him and then pull him into the shadows followed by a blood-curdling scream, blood flying out of the shadows, and a strange screech mixed with a wolf howl and a dragon roar.

* * *

**END CHAPTER**

How many people who saw "John Carpenter's The Thing" thought the husky was going to turn? And sorry for the cliché entry of the next part, even if it were remade somewhat.

Hope you enjoyed and don't forget to read, review, follow, and/or favorite.


	6. The Facility, part 2

Author's Notes: I own nothing except Klaxon, Crater, and Rift.

Nasuada, Corvo's design and Wala belong to HKGhost.

Key:

"{D} Hello" = Distortion in voice

"{G} Help..." = Gurgled speech

"{Vasudan:} Hello." = Translation into English while speaker speaks different language.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

"Hey! What's going on with the temperature!? It's freezing in here!" yelled Fleabane as he shivered slightly.

"Something's wrong with the boilers." said Maverick as he watched the thermometer drop slowly.

"I'll go down and check." said Jack grabbing a iron mace from the nearby weapons rack and heading for the boiler room. The Jackal opened the door leading down to the boiler room and watched as the light crystals instantly sprang to life and illuminated the dark passageway as he made his way down the stairs until he was on flat stone again. He then came to the main boiler and looked around for the Engineer on duty.

"Lazy idiot..." muttered Jack as he walked over and checked the gauges yet found nothing wrong until he checked a pipe that was losing steam. Grabbing the nearby roll of duct tape, he patched up the hole and watched as the gauges went back to their "green" positions. He smiled a bit before he felt something wet hit his head. Reaching up, he found the spot where the stuff hit him and brought his hand down to his face and saw...

"Blood?" said Jack in confusion before he looked up and he jumped back.

"{G}Help...me..." said the half dissolved Engineer Jackal as he hung from a red blob attached to the ceiling. The hanging Jackal's face was half flesh and fur, half bone as blue veins ran through his entire body which started at the red blob, his right arm was a massive three-fingered claw. The red blob covered the Engineer's lower half and it seemed to be..."eating" the Jackal slowly as it seemed to swallow him slowly.

Jack backed up in fear before he bolted from the room and slammed the door behind him, earning stares from the others present in the lobby.

"Get the Flaming Bolts, we got a serious problem." said Jack, still in mild shock.

"What'd you see?" said the Jackal Captain walking over.

"Just get the bolts...and then...I'll see about telling you..." said Jack still trying to calm down.

Fleabane and Maverick leave and then after ten minutes return with the Flaming Bolts and crossbows.

"Okay, now then...what did you see?" said Bloodsnout (the Jackal Captain).

"The Engineer was being...eaten by something...I have no idea what but I DID NOT want to stick around and find out!" said Jack.

"Show us."

"Bring the crossbows, trust me, this isn't something I've seen before." said Jack reluctantly opening the door, jumping upon the light crystals coming to life, earning a few snickers from the others.

The four descend the stairs until they're in the Boiler Room and...the blob is missing.

"What? B-b-b-but the thing...i-i-it w-w-was here. I'm not going crazy!" yelled Jack as he searched the small room.

"You're right." said Fleabane looking to the left side of the room.

"What?"

"That hole wasn't here before." said Fleabane pointing to the Jackal shaped hole in the rock wall on the left side of the room and the other three Jackals' mouths dropped.

"What the f** is going on?!" yelled Jack looking downright confused and frightened.

"Quick! Follow it so it doesn't escape!" said Bloodsnout as he jumped through the hole followed by the other three and the four wind up in the freezing winds blowing outside the facility. The four spot the Engineer walking away and they easily catch up to him as the Engineer falls to his knees. The two with crossbows cautiously walk in front of the Engineer, weapons at the ready followed by Bloodsnout and Jack.

"What the-" said Bloodsnout upon seeing the Engineer's face.

"{G}Help...me..." gurgled the Engineer. The Jackal's face looked like three-in-one; the left side was still his, the middle was that of a wolf's, and the right side was split off and skeletal looking. His right arm was a massive three-fingered claw and his clothes were shredded as massive back claws erupted form his back, and his stomach slowly opened to reveal a massive Alien-like jaw inside.

"What are you waiting for?! KILL IT! KILL IT!" screamed Jack before he grabbed Maverick's crossbow and fired the loaded Fire Bolt at the Thing Engineer who screeched in pain as the fire consumed him. Jack grabbed another Fire Bolt, loaded his weapon and fired again. Fleabane followed suite and began shooting Fire Bolts at the Thing Engineer.

*Thing Screeches in Agony*

After several seconds of thrashing wildly, the Thing Engineer falls to the ground completely and stops moving altogether. After several minutes, the four put the fire out and Bloodsnout bends down to look at the creature.

"Don't touch it!" said Fleabane and Jack agrees.

"Its dead, what can it do?" said Bloodsnout as he touched it.

"Don't come crying to us when you wind up dead." said Jack.

"Let's bring it inside." said Bloodsnout, ignoring them.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?! I ain't touching that thing!" said Fleabane.

"Me neither!" said Jack.

"Fine! Maverick, give me a hand." said Bloodsnout, grabbing the burnt corpse and Maverick grabs the other end.

"Ow! Careful, this...thing's got sharp edges." said Maverick after he cut himself on the Thing Engineer's three-clawed foot.

The two lifted the body up and walked back into the facility.

"Night shifts for guard duty?" said Jack to Fleabane.

"Definitely." said Fleabane before the two walked back inside after the cold air started to sting their skin.

* * *

"So, Maverick find out anything on what the heck happened to the Engineer?" said a Jackal Grunt as polished his weapon, a weighted kiliji.

"No, the captain told the guy keep whatever he found under wraps. Hey, who's the new guy?" said another Grunt pointing to a another Jackal across the room who was polishing a long-sword that had red-black lightning arcing off it. Three scars were visible; one near his right eye, one on his right arm that started on his shoulder and ended at his elbow, and the third was across his chest, his fur was a brownish-gold.

"Don't know. New transfer. Weird thing is, he didn't exist 'til two days ago."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He's very anti-social, he doesn't even make eye contact with the Captain when receiving orders."

"That'll get him killed for sure."

"Would you two mind shuttin' up? Your useless chatting is giving me a headache." said the brownish-gold furred Jackal in annoyance.

"{Sarcastically} Oh, pardon us mister...um...?" said the first Grunt.

"Claw." growled the brownish-gold Jackal as he looked at them with demonic red eyes, sending chills down the two's spines.

"No wonder he's anti-social." whispered the second to the first.

A kunai then embedded itself in the wall between the two's heads and they ran out of the room in a split second. The Jackal smirked before he sheathed his sword into its sheathe strapped to his back and walked out of the room. In the spot he was previously sitting was a bronze key labeled 'Blood Supply'. A red tentacle reached out and grabbed the key before it disappeared back into the floor-mounted ventilation shaft.

* * *

Later that Night...

[John Carpenter's The Thing Main Theme]

Fleabane was keeping watch at his and Jack's shared dorm when he saw a shadowy figure cross the hallway leading into the research area, where both the armored person from the day before and the Thing Engineer were stored.

"What's going on?" muttered the Jackal to himself as he got up, his dual swords at the ready. He slowly approached the Research Room before he peered inside...

* * *

**END CHAPTER**

Hope you enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to read, review, follow, and/or favorite.


End file.
